Battle of Valmy

The Battle of Valmy (20 September 1792) was the first major battle of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought between the 32,000-strong French army of Charles-Francois Dumouriez and Francois Christophe Kellermann and the 34,000-strong Austrian and Prussian army of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. The Austro-Prussian army advanced into northern France from the Austrian Netherlands and captured the city of Verdun, and the army began to march on Paris. The French engaged the Austrians and Prussians at Valmy, but the "battle" was nothing more than an artillery duel between the two armies. The Coalition army decided to break off after the French began shouting the Vive la nation battle cry and singing songs such as La Marseillaise and Ca Ira, and the "battle" came to an end as a French victory. The National Convention was emboldened by the decisive victory at Valmy, and it proclaimed the French First Republic two days later, replacing the Kingdom of the French constitutional monarchy.